To think these guidelines are a little over the top

[slugz]

Dd(4) has been attending nursery 9-3 each day for over a year. There is no option for hot lunch so I send a packed lunch, usually consisting of sandwich, cereal bar and fruit. I always avoid peanut butter or nutty biscuits as I am aware there are 2 nut-allergic sisters.
There have been no incidents (I've asked) but the nursery now want to change the guidelines to exclude any chance of nut contamination. So I've been asked not to send the cereal bar. OK so it's the sort of thing that might be manufactured in a nutty place, so I'll avoid that.
Only now I'm finding it's very difficult to replace it with anything. I bought some fruit yoghurts, thinking they'd be fine, but according to the packaging it's unsuitable due to the manufacturing process. Cheesy dippers are no good. They want assurances that the bread for sandwiches says on the packaging, completely nut-free, my bread doesn't specify. Any spreads again must be cleared by them as OK. Cheese also.
Now obviously if there's a real risk to a child's health then I will care for the child but I just think that the risks are tiny and the inconvenience enormous. We all live in villages so getting bread from the local shop when you've run out, you're very limited in choice. And to buy in specialist bread for a 4yo who will only eat a few slices before it goes stale is expensive and impractical.
Am I being unreasonable in thinking that a minute chance of cross-contamination in a factory that MAY previously have been used on nut containing products, being eaten by a child in the same room as an allergic child but supervised by carers aware of the problem is a minute risk that's just life.
Once you get down to those sorts of risks isn't it more risky going into a public place where someone may have eaten crunchy nut cornflakes for breakfast, spilt some down their front and then brushed against the wall?

lordy. i don't know why people entertain this shit - you know what is common sense

I do indeed. But they've said they won't allow her to eat anything I send in without packaging being sent first. The cereal bar was confiscated on Friday even though I didn't know about the new rules.

If they are being that strict and demanding, then they should be providing a meal for all the children that is suitable for all the children to eat.

Ignore it...just carry on as before. It's way OTT in my opinion and not your place to be scruitinising every bloody bread packet because someone else has an allergy (albeit a terrible allergy)

It's unworkable...we can all do our bit in avoiding nuts and nut products but bloody hell...next they'll be telling pet owners to inspect their kid's clothes under a microscope incase a single pet hair triggers someone's allergy

That is completly unreasonable, my DH has a nut allergy and I don't go to the level of eradicating everything that states it may be contaminated, if I did that there would be nothing left to eat, even if you was able to get rid of these products there are still those that contain nut oils, (shampoos, cereals etc) and don't say they just say vegetable oils on the packaging and not specifically nut oil

Keep doing what you are doing, you'll just send yourself silly otherwise.

I would ask them to provide you with a list of 'safe' breads and snacks, win-win!

But the OP can't carry on doing what she's doing if the nursery is going to confiscate the food!

That's insane - I've never heard of children with nut allergies being so allergic that no child can eat food that may have come into contact with nuts. In a way, I could understand it more if your DD was at proper school where there is less supervision over sharing food but in a nursery they're really closely watched surely?

I think you need to have a word with them - you can't be the only parent who is struggling to find something suitable for their children to eat

YANBU
The nursery should provide the food. That is the only way that they can really be 100% certain that all the food on the premises is nut free.

I think it is reasonable not to allow loose nuts or cereal bars etc specifically containing nuts into the class which has someone with a nut allergy. However, anything other than that, then the nursery should be the one to put procedures in place to ensure there is no cross contamination not limit all other children's food choices.
That's frankly verging on causing a suit against the nursery for making a balanced diet nearly impossible for other children.

The problem with all these over zealous ridiculous rules is there are illogical and only put in place to limit any suing not for the children with the allergies.

Bottom line, if we as a nation stopped trying to sue and blame someone every time an accident happened companies wouldn't have to put these ridiculous procedures in place.

I think mass action will be the way to go. Can you get together with other parents (who are presumably in the same quandary) and present a united front to the nursery, to demand a list of suitable lunchbox foods, together with local stockists. Hopefully they will come to their senses, and realise their position has become excessive. Then perhaps you can work together to get a list of the real no-nos, and they can put their energy into their food/allergy/hygiene standards and not into harassing parents.

Oh nad complain to the nursery that their policies are completely unworkable and you may have to reconsider using them. Tell everybody else to do the same thing. they will soon change their minds if it is affecting business.
Nut allergy is a serious concern, obviously, but this is way over the top.

It's so OTT. The nursery should have measures in place to attempt to avoid those children with allergies coming into contact with food that MIGHT contain whatever is a trigger.

However that should not be at the detriment to other service users. They are not taking your child's wishes into account. They are therefore failing in their duty of care to your child.

They need to weigh up the risks. If they keep close supervision of the children at risk, then those children won't come into contact with the trigger food.

If the parents of those children are not happy with that arrangement, they should remove their children. Not expect everyone else to never buy anything that may be made in a factory which may at some point in the last century have processed nuts.

YANBU. But are you certain there aren't some wires crossed here, either between you and the person providing this information (or much more likely) the person asking you to do this has misunderstood a far more reasonable request from their superior?

It is totally reasonable for a nursery to be nut free to the extent that there are no actual nuts but to prohibit food items unless they have been certifed as risk free is insane.

Ask them to produce a definitive list of what is acceptable.

How on earth are they going to know whether the slice of bread you sent in yesterday came from the same loaf as today's slice of bread?

The amount of admin in checking the packaging of every item in every child's lunchbox would, I would assume, be prohibitively expensive.

Surely the only way that can be certain is to provide the food themselves??

I think I would clarify the extent of forbidden foods with the nursery. Did you decide the fruit yoghurt was unacceptable or did they? If they did, then I understand your frustration and you need from them a list of acceptable foods and the reason they need to be so strict. It may be a case of 'better safe than sorry' rather than out of necessity in which case you and the other parents should say that it's not workable. I'm just thinking that may be they are banning foods actually containing nuts and some cereal bars do contain them. Same with the bread. 'Nut-free' and 'may be produced in a factory where nuts are handled' are completely different things.

Ask demand for a list of approved foods.

YANBU - this is absolutely ridiculous; in fact I can't even be bothered to expand on this.(much).

Tell them not to be so bloody ridiculous - if they are concerned, it would be better to send the children with nut allergies into nursery in a bubble suit, rather than inconvenience the rest of the bloody world!

I have had similar with primary school - uttrer tosh and nonsense. If a child is allergic to nuts, to that extent, then clearly said child should be at home with mum and segregated from the rest of society.

'May be produced in a factory where nuts are handled', is specifically what they want to get rid of. This is one of the phrases that was written on a large whiteboard to make us aware. It's also what it says on the cereal bar in question.
The yoghurt says 'unsuitable for nut-allergy sufferers due to the manufacturing process' they've said this isn't allowed.
I can't really see them policing the bread and spreads, but I'm so irritated by it that I almost want to make them inspect packaging every day.
There aren't very many of us that send kids for lunch because it's sessional daycare really and kids do mornings or afternoons. It just happened to be that shortly after she started mornings they offered the lunch option just as I was offered more work hours, and dh is around at 3 to pick her up. For most people the hours aren't long enough for proper childcare for workers. For this reason mass complaint and action probably won't work. There's usually only 4 or 5 kids there for lunch.

If you look at ingredients on a Tesco product, it quite often says -

Ingredients - no nuts
Factory - no nuts
Cannot guarantee no nuts

Even as a mother of an allergic ds I WOULD give something that was labelled like that to my ds.

I would NOT give him something that stated 'due to the manufacturing process this is not suitable for nut allergy sufferers.

We shop at Tescos because the labelling is good, Sainsburys just seem to stick 'not suitable for nut allergy sufferers' on everything with no other explanation so we can give ds the new food, hold breath, stand by with epi pen and keep everything crossed, collapse with relief when he's ok make an informed decision.

Can't find anything within EYFS documents regarding guidelines for this type of thing. There are plenty of guidelines about letting children taste food from different cultures though, so maybe tell them that in your culture having food which may be made in a factory which also handles nuts is the norm... thus they should take your cultural background into account

See... if they start being silly something, so can you!

If the children (or adult) with the allergy is not able to have an epi-pen to counteract any allergic reaction, then they should not be in group care. There is only so far that things can be done to accommodate people with allergies. Removing nut products is fine. Removing products that MAY contain a trace of nut is going too far. There are just too many things that MAY contain a nut trace.

A child coming into the group from home MAY contain a nut trace. Are they going to ban Children!

valiumredhead - as you have a child with a nut allergy, what do you consider is reasonable?

Should the nursery be making sure your child does not eat other children's food?

But some nut allergies are only if ingested. Some are skin contact. Which may be the case with the OP's nursery.

Interesting valiumred.
I usually shop at tescos in the closest town, but on this occasion due to trying to find a replacement in a hurry I picked up the yoghurts from a sainsburys I was passing. Am I likely to have more luck with fruit yoghurts from tescos, or will they still do the 'cannot guarantee no nuts' thing.
They are aware of the impracticalities because when I said this to the manager she shrugged and said that she had no idea what to eat herself now, but that it was necessary.

I agree with those that have said that you should ask the nursey to provide a list of suitable products. A list specifically with suggestions on foods you can provide that will ensure your child gets the right amount of protein, carbs, calcium etc throughout the day.

you are not being unreasonable. our primary school did this . ds3 is a fussy eater and i could not find thing for him to eat that the school would accept. My child starving didnt seem a problem compared to the vague chance of a nut reaction. In the end i sent in what he would eat and argued long nad long until stepped down .....victory for common sense.